Finsbury alopecia sufferer ‘thrown out of pub for wearing a cap’
A man who has alopecia claims his family was thrown out of a pub because he refused to remove his hat.
Lee Adams has the hair-loss condition that famously afflicts Gail Porter. He believes bar staff forced him, his wife and toddler from the William Blake in Old Street, Finsbury.
But a spokeswoman for the pub says it was a misunderstanding, insisting they told him he could stay on this occasion – despite having a policy banning caps.
Mr Adams, a 30-year-old loss prevention investigator from nearby Gee Street, had popped out for a spot of lunch with wife Marianna and two-year-old son Daniel on May 2.
But he says that when they sat down in the pub, a member of staff told him to remove his cap.
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He explained about his condition, which means clumps of hair fall out and he has to paint on his eyebrows every day, and the manager was called.
Mr Adams said: “She came over and told me to take my cap off. I said I had really bad confidence issues but she didn’t seem to care.
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“I even offered to take my hat off so my image could be captured on CCTV but she said if I didn’t remove the cap we would have to leave.
“My son started crying – he didn’t understand what was going on – and my wife was upset.
‘‘It was really embarrassing. I even complained to their head office but they weren’t any help. I had been there before with no trouble but I won’t be going back there again.”
However, a spokeswoman for the pub denied that Mr Adams had been given an ultimatum.
She said: “The policy regarding the removal of peaked caps and hats is in place for the safety of our customers and staff to ensure that all faces are visible should an incident occur on the premises. The policy is also often as a result from local authorities who request facial recognition for CCTV purposes.
“The manager explained the policy to the customer and, in this instance, did not ask him to remove his head wear but did advise that, in the future, head wear without a peak would be acceptable.”
